Three's Always A Crowd
by The Create Card
Summary: To try and make things better with Kari, TK and Davis try showing off some magic. But what happens when they HANDCUFF themselves to her?! We hit the end with Part 10!
1. Magic Gone Wrong

Author's Note: Ah, yes, I'm now going into THIS story. Cliched? Perhaps. Bad idea? Hardly! I think this could work out awesome and I hope I don't hit writer's block anytime soon, because this should be a lot of fun! So let's check out what happens!

  


Summary: Kari's still not very happy with TK or Davis over what happened at the fashion show. But TK and Davis are determined to make it up to her through more…conventional means. But there's nothing conventional about what happens!

  


**Three's Always a Crowd: Part 1**

  


Another January day was just beginning, but twelve-year-old Kari Kamiya already found herself home alone. Her father was away at work and her mother was doing her grocery shopping so she could make her…most unique concoctions. And of course, Tai was spending the day with Matt and Sora. That left Kari alone with her one companion…

****ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ****

…who was asleep on top of the TV. Kari's sweatdropped at the sound of Gatomon's snoring. But it didn't take long to wake her up, because the doorbell rang. Having been startled by the doorbell, Gatomon fell off the TV, hitting the floor with a thud.

"W-What happened?" Gatomon yawned. "I dreamt that I was being chased by a bunch of giant mice."

"It's just the doorbell," Kari giggled. "I should get that while you pick yourself up."

Gatomon found herself more comfortable on the floor, so she stayed down while Kari got the door. At first she thought it would be the mailman delivering something for one of her parents, but she got an unexpected surprise.

"TK?"

At her doorstep was twelve-year-old TK Takaishi, Kari's best friend. To say the least, he was very early since he never came at this time in the morning…nor did he ever come without calling first. This was the latest in a string of peculiar behavior being exhibited by TK. Kari knew he wasn't being himself and there was a reason he was acting so different than normal.

"Hey, Kari! Is anybody here?"

"Just me and Gatomon," Kari answered.

"Can I come in?"

"Uh…sure."

TK walked in and that's when Kari noticed he had a box in his hand. He placed the box on the nearby coffee table. Kari was getting very curious at this point and she wondered what could be inside.

"What's in the box?" Kari asked.

TK scratched the back of his head shyly. "Well…I know you've been pretty mad at me these last few days. And…I can't blame you, since I DID hit you with a pie and everything. But…I was hoping I could make you feel a little better."

"How do you plan to do that?" Kari asked, with a hint of a smile.

TK was about to answer, but that's when someone knocked on Kari's door again. Kari got up and answered it. This time…

"Hi, Kari!"

…it was twelve-year-old Davis Motomiya…and he also had a box in his hand. This was what Kari WASN'T hoping for, because now she had a combustible element. TK and Davis were once again under the same roof.

Of course, Davis was the one to start it. "What are you doing here, TU?!"

"What am *I* doing here?" TK repeated. "I was here first!"

Kari quickly nipped this in the bud. "Um…before we start any arguments…what's in the box?"

TK and Davis both smiled and opened up their respective boxes. And they both took out…a magic kit. Davis and TK eyed each other and groaned. Kari could only giggle.

"You stole my idea, TP!" Davis whined.

"No way!" TK shot back. "I thought of it first, Mini-Me!"

"DON'T call me that!!"

Kari knew she should have stopped this, but luckily someone else was there. And her curiosity was peaked as well. It was Gatomon.

"Ooh, is that a magic kit? I didn't know you two could do magic."

TK turned back to Kari and smiled warmly. "Of course I can. You don't spend years watching your older brother try this stuff and not pick up a few tricks. Hey, Gatomon? Why don't you be my guinea pig…er…I mean assistant?"

Gatomon jumped at the chance. "Ok!"

Davis huffed as TK got ready to prepare his first trick. He reached over behind Gatomon's ear and pulled out a quarter. It was enough for what was to be a simple intro trick. Then TK moved over to Gatomon's other ear and pulled out a chain of handkerchiefs that were tied together. Kari was impressed and showed it with her applause.

TK took a bow. "Thank you."

Davis didn't even wait for TK to sit down before he prepared HIS first trick. First, he consulted with Gatomon. Then he stuffed her in a box, where only her head and feet were sticking out. Davis reached over and pulled out a large saw.

"I don't know if this works on anything other than humans," Davis grinned. "But let's hope for the best!"

"Just be careful, Davis," Gatomon chirped. "I only have nine lives, you know."

Davis reached over and started sawing the box in half. Kari couldn't help but be concerned for Gatomon's safety, especially knowing that the magician in question was DAVIS. But Davis did saw the box in half and moved it apart to show Gatomon had been cut in half. Then he put the boxes back together and opened the box. Gatomon proudly jumped out of the box to show she was still in one piece.

Kari was legitimately amazed, so of course she applauded. She then peeked out of the corner of her eye to see that TK was shocked. Not because of the trick, but because Kari was actually applauding. Had this been earlier in their lives, Kari would have completely blown Davis off. Kari couldn't help but think of that fact, either. Maybe things WERE changing.

TK then decided to try his next trick. He placed Gatomon on a large box he had set up and put a blanket over her. He recited the magic words and he removed the blanket to reveal that Gatomon had disappeared. Kari and Davis both couldn't believe that, but TK wasn't finished. He put the blanket back on and recited the magic words. But Gatomon didn't reappear under the blanket…

"Hello!"

Gatomon appeared behind Kari and Davis. Kari was completely in shock…and completely stumped.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

TK shook his head. "A magician can't reveal his secrets. You won't tell her, will you, Gatomon?"

"My lips are sealed," Gatomon replied.

"There's no way you could have pulled that trick off!" Davis exclaimed. "How'd you do it, TE?"

"Get my name right and I MIGHT tell you," TK grinned.

"I don't need you to tell me! I can top that any day of the week!"

"You're just jealous, goggle boy! You cannot top that!"

"I…could. It just might…take me time."

"Is the great Davis FINALLY out of ideas?"

"I NEVER run out of ideas!"

Kari knew it couldn't last. The two boys were fighting again. She couldn't take much more of it, so she buried her face in her hands. She didn't need to see this. And there was nothing worse for Kari than seeing her two friends fight.

****CLICK****

Kari felt something snap. She turned her head to see…her left wrist had been handcuffed. And at the other end of the handcuffs…was Davis, who had a wide grin on his face.

"For my next trick, I'll undo these magic handcuffs," Davis said.

"Magic handcuffs, huh?" TK muttered. "Two can play at that game!"

TK reached into his box to reveal he had his own set of magic handcuffs. And he put them at Kari's RIGHT wrist. Kari felt trapped between a rock and a hard place and all she could was sweatdrop.

First, Davis attempted to undo the handcuffs. He took his plastic magic wand and he tapped the cuffs three times in a pattern. The cuffs didn't come loose.

"Um…maybe it's like this."

Davis tapped the cuffs three times again, this time in a different pattern. Again, the cuffs didn't come loose. Kari was starting to lose her patience and she saw from the look on Davis' face that he knew it, too. So he tapped the cuffs again three time in a different pattern. But the cuffs would not come loose.

"That's weird," Davis mused. "It always USED to work."

"What do you mean USED TO?!" Kari shouted indignantly.

"Why don't you let me show you how it's done, Davis?" TK added.

TK tapped his set of handcuffs three times in a different pattern than what Davis tried before. But it didn't work. The cuffs were still attached. TK sweatdropped and he tried again, this time tapping the cuffs three times in another pattern. Again, the cuffs stayed on. Kari was now giving TK a menacing look and TK knew he was short on time, so he tried tapping the cuffs again in a new pattern. It still wouldn't work.

"So much for the two great magicians," Kari groaned. "Look, you obviously can't do it, so why don't you just get the key already?"

Davis blinked. "There's a key to this?"

"That's NOT funny, Davis!" Kari growled.

"I'm not laughing," Davis gulped. "I didn't think there WAS a key to this. So I think I might have thrown it away with the box."

Through that revelation, Kari managed to keep her cool. "That's not a problem. I'll just undo those cuffs with TK's key. Where's your key, TK?"

TK blinked. "Um…I think Matt might have lost his key."

Kari gave TK an intimidating glare. "That's NOT funny, TK! Where's the key?"

TK scratched the back of his head with his right hand. "Well…I never PLANNED to use these. I just used them because Davis did it first. And I thought I could get them loose…"

"What are you saying, TK?" Kari demanded.

"I don't have a key, either. I think we're stuck."

Kari immediately turned red. It wasn't the red that neither TK nor Davis was used to seeing. Kari was turning a very ANGRY shade of red. She looked like she was about to blow.

Kari tried to sum it up. "So…you're saying I'm stuck like this? Attached at the wrist to BOTH OF YOU?!"

Davis smiled. "You know, if I could be attached at the wrist to anybody in the world, I'm glad it's…"

"SHUT UP, DAVIS!!" Kari shouted. She then focused her anger on TK. She grabbed him by the shirt with both hands, even though that meant dragging Davis over. "What do you plan to do about this?!"

"Yeah, TH! She obviously doesn't want to be attached to you! This is your fault!"

"My fault?!" TK snapped. "You're the one who attached yourself to her in the first place! This is all your fault!"

"No one told you to attach yourself to her other wrist! It's yours!"

"Yours!"

"Yours!"

"YOURS!"

"STOP IT!!" Kari shrieked. "I don't care WHOSE fault it is! I just want these handcuffs off me! So what do you two plan to do about this?!"

Silence.

TK spoke up first. "Well…we could always try to BREAK the handcuffs."

"But wouldn't it be kinda weird to try and break them here?" Davis thought.

"That's the smartest thing you've said all day," TK responded. "Maybe we should try breaking these somewhere else so we won't be seen. Imagine if Kari's mom comes in and sees us like this. What if TAI sees us like this?"

Kari gulped. "Good point. A change of scenery would be nice."

"But where would we go?" Davis asked.

TK grinned. "I think we all know the answer to that."

Kari sweatdropped. That obviously meant it was time to drag her other friends into this. And the last thing she really wanted was to be seen attached at the right wrist to TK and at the left wrist to Davis.

This was going to be a VERY LONG DAY.

  


Next Time: It's time to try and break the handcuffs with a little assistance from a few friends. But is breaking two sets of handcuffs as easy as it looks? And what'll happen when Kari, TK, and Davis run into the inevitable problems that come with being attached at the wrist?

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	2. Getting A Helping Hand

Last Time: How could something as harmless as innocent magic tricks lead to total disaster? How about Davis handcuffing himself to Kari's left wrist and TK handcuffing himself to her right wrist? Kari's stuck in the middle like never before and there's only one thing they could do. They had to break these handcuffs. But for that, they'll need a little help.

  


**Three's Always A Crowd: Part 2**

  


Kari had never been so embarrassed in her life. She didn't want anyone to see that she was handcuffed to TK and Davis, but there was only one way to hide the handcuffs from the viewing public on the street. She was forced to put her hands in her pockets…and that meant having one of Davis and TK's hands in each of her pockets. Kari was still getting stares from the people and she couldn't blame them. She looked and felt like a total tramp.

"I like how warm your pockets feel, Kari," Davis grinned.

Kari groaned. "TK, remind me to slap him later."

"With pleasure," TK grinned. Davis sweatdropped.

Finally, the long walk ended and Kari got to the one place where she could hopefully get some help. She knocked on the apartment door and got an answer from…

"Hey Kari…and TK…and Davis…uh…you three look kinda……close."

…fourteen-year old Yolei Inoue. The older girl was taken off-guard by seeing the two boys with their hands in Kari's pockets. Kari didn't know where to begin explaining the whole awkward situation.

"We're…sort of in a bind right now…" Kari said timidly.

"That's one way of putting it," TK interrupted.

"And we were wondering if you could help us," Davis added. "We're a little tied up at the moment."

"You just HAD to say it, didn't you?" TK growled.

"Well, it's true," Davis grinned.

"What are you babbling about now, Davis?" Yolei asked. "Kari, what's wrong?"

Kari knew there was no use in keeping secrets, so she took her hands out of her pockets to reveal that her hands were both handcuffed. One hand cuffed to Davis and the other to TK.

Yolei gasped. "How did THIS happen?"

"I don't even want to say anything," Kari moaned. "If I do, I'll just get a headache. But the real problem is that neither of these two have a key. We need help to break these handcuffs."

Yolei turned to look into her apartment. "Well…my entire family's here, so there isn't much breathing room here." Then her face brightened. "But there may be one guy who can help us out!"

Kari suddenly knew exactly who Yolei had in mind.

* * *

Kari knocked on the door again. There was still no answer.

"Come on!" Yolei growled. "We know you're in there! Open up!"

Kari didn't want to give up, so she knocked one more time. This time, the door finally opened. And there stood…twelve-year-old Ken Ichijouji.

"This is a surprise," Ken said. "What brings you four here?"

Without hesitation, Kari raised her arms and revealed her dilemma. It still wasn't an easy sight for Yolei to see and Ken was also taking it with the appropriate shock.

Ken blinked. "Um…let me guess…this was Davis' idea?"

"Hey!"

"And…TK just HAD to follow suit, am I right?"

"Right on both counts," Kari groaned. "We could sure use a hand, Ken. Neither of these two 'expert' magicians can get these handcuffs loose. And neither one of them has a key. I need some help to break them. Do you have anything we could use?"

Ken thought about that. "Well…I could try some of my dad's power tools."

Kari's spirits were immediately raised. "Great! Then let's try it!"

Without thinking, Kari tried to run straight for the garage. But when she tried running, she yanked Davis and TK over and that resulted in all three of them falling over. Ken and Yolei sweatdropped.

"This is gonna be one of THOSE days, isn't it?" Ken sighed.

Yolei shook her head at the sight of the fallen three kids. "Why, whatever gives you THAT idea?"

Kari shook her head, seeing as how that was all she could shake at the moment. It was a bad feeling to be unable to move her arms without moving someone else. Hopefully, Ken could get these handcuffs off before something REALLY BAD happened.

* * *

Everyone had now converged inside Ken's house while Ken retrieved a box of his father's tools. While TK was the one to hold that particular crest, it was Kari who had all the hope. She hoped Ken could remove her from what was sure to be a living nightmare if something wasn't done soon.

Ken started by taking out a simple wood saw. "Ok, stick out your hand."

Kari didn't hesitate and stuck out her left hand first. Ken reached over and began sawing away at the handcuffs, but the metal wasn't even being dented.

"Hmm…doesn't work. Let me try something else."

Kari looked on as Ken took out a powerful drill. He started drilling away at the handcuffs, but he wasn't having any luck. The metal wasn't being penetrated and the handcuffs remained intact. Ken shrugged and reached into the box again. This time, he took out a chainsaw.

"K-K-Ken…isn't that a little dangerous?" Davis asked nervously.

Ken smiled. "Davis, you're my best friend and I can't lie to you. Of course it's dangerous…IF you move. So stay still."

****WHIRRRRRRRRRRR****

Even Kari was beginning to feel a little scared over such a powerful tool being held inches from her wrist. But for the purpose of freeing herself, she had no other choice. So she closed her eyes as the chainsaw came closer and its whirring grew louder. Kari heard the grinding sound and she could have sworn there was success. But when the whirring stopped and Kari opened her eyes, she saw that the handcuffs…were STILL intact. There was hardly a dent.

Ken sweatdropped. "Well…no one ever said my dad settled for the best in power tools."

"Are you saying I'm STUCK like this?!" Kari demanded, raising her arms. But when she raised her arms, she unwittingly raised Davis and TK's arms, catching both boys by surprise.

"Until we think of a better idea," Ken replied. "These handcuffs must be top of the line. I never seen such strong metal before."

"I guess Matt wanted the best in handcuffs in case he ever wanted to do this sort of thing with Sora," TK thought. "I wonder if he'll notice they're missing."

"I don't even want to tell Jun about these cuffs," Davis added. "If these things fell into her hands, no boy would be safe!"

"Now that we've established how hard the metal is," Kari said dryly, "how do we get them off?!"

"Hey, I think I have an idea!" Yolei said cheerfully.

* * *

It took about 15 minutes, but Yolei was well on her way to getting the solution to this problem. With the assistance of Ken's computer, Yolei did a search all over the Internet to find the one thing that could help Kari and solve her problem. She searched for a replacement key.

"Here's one!" Yolei said triumphantly. "If I order it right now…it should arrive in…two to three days."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Davis said.

Kari wasn't exactly joyful. "So you mean…I have to stay attached to these two jerks for two to three days?!"

TK looked really hurt. "Jerks? Kari, you think I'm a jerk?"

"I'm used to her calling me a jerk," Davis said. "But it still hurts. I was just trying to make you feel better, Kari."

"I think you're BOTH jerks!" Kari reiterated. "What possessed you two to handcuff yourselves to me in the first place?!"

Neither boy had an answer for her. They both just hung their heads down and turned their heads away from Kari. Kari didn't want to make anyone feel bad, but these two had worked her last nerve with this latest stunt. All she wanted now was to be free, but with what Yolei was telling her, it didn't look possible. It looked like she would be stuck for the next two to three days and for that, Kari couldn't bring herself to forgive them. Nothing could make this situation better.

"Would you like some tea, Kari?" a gentle voice asked. It was little Wormmon.

Kari shook her head. "Not now, Wormmon. Thank you."

"I hate to bring up more bad news," Ken added, "but where are you all going to stay? It's obvious that you can't go back to Kari's house. What would Tai say?"

That was another issue. Kari didn't realize it before, but she couldn't go home. Not in this state. She didn't know what to do.

"Any ideas?" Kari gulped.

"We can't go to my house," Davis shrugged. "The last thing we need is Jun looking over our shoulders."

"My mom would ask a lot of questions," TK sighed.

"You know my situation," Yolei added. "My family's too big."

"What about us, Ken?" Wormmon suggested. "I'm sure we can fit them all in your room."

Ken shook his head. "You've got to be kidding me. What if Mom and Dad catch them?"

"I can warn you in advance if they're about to come in," Wormmon continued. "And if it helps, I can always distract them while you hide them."

That was a huge relief to Kari. She almost forgot that Ken told his parents all about Wormmon. Kari had yet to tell her family about Digimon and the Digital World.

"They need help, Ken," Wormmon pleaded. "You can help them. Please say you'll help them."

Kari smiled. Wormmon had a heart of gold and he was always willing to help anyone who was in need. And no one was more in need of help than Kari.

Ken couldn't resist those heartfelt pleas. "Ok, they can stay here. They can sleep on the floor in my room."

Kari beamed. "Thank you, Ken. I promise we'll make this up to you someday. I just hope this doesn't last long."

Ken stood up and walked towards the phone. "So now that we've got that out of the way…who's hungry?"

TK and Davis both raised their hands and therefore Kari's hands were raised, whether she was hungry or not. It just so happened that Kari WAS hungry, so she didn't mind it too much, but she knew this sort of thing would get out of hand sooner than later.

Ken sweatdropped. "Let me order some Chinese."

* * *

Kari looked down at her rice cup and her mouth watered. So she reached for her chopsticks with her right hand and was about to dig in. But as she was going down, her right hand was dragged away by TK's left hand, which was bringing a glass of Coke to his mouth.

Kari moaned softly and reached for a fork with her left hand. But as she was about to reach down with her fork, her left hand was dragged away by Davis' right hand, which was bringing some chow mein to his mouth.

"Hey!" Kari snapped. "I have to eat too, you know!"

TK and Davis paused for a second. They immediately grew apologetic and turned to face Kari. They both grabbed spoonfuls of rice and shoved them in her mouth. With Kari's wrists attached to theirs, the scene looked very weird to say the least. Kari gulped hard and growled.

"I mean STOP MOVING YOUR HANDS! I don't mean spoon feed me like a baby!"

TK and Davis paused and decided to think better of feeding Kari and just let her eat on her own. Kari felt better for about a few seconds. But that's when Davis dug into the rest of the food with his left hand.

"Hey! A fortune cookie!"

Davis, excited about this one, dragged his right hand over. Unfortunately, he unwittingly dragged Kari and TK with him and they both ended up knocking over the food…which spilled all over Ken's carpet.

Ken sweatdropped. "Wormmon…get the stain remover."

TK groaned. "Well, was it worth it, Davis? Was your fortune cookie worth it?!"

"Let's find out," Davis grinned, opening the cookie. He read the fortune aloud. "You and two friends will be a lot closer very soon."

"That's the understatement of the century," TK growled.

"I can't believe this is happening to me!" Kari whined. "It's not fair! I can't even eat like this!"

As if on cue, both TK and Davis shoved a spoonful of rice into Kari's mouth in an attempt to be helpful. It didn't help, nor did it make Kari feel better. All Kari could do was swallow and scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

  


Next Time: It's going to be a very long two to three days. So what'll happen next time and how will the simplest of tasks be turned completely awkward? Find out next time!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	3. Bathroom Trouble

Last Time: Kari tried to get some assistance with her handcuff problem from Yolei and Ken, but the stubborn handcuffs won't break. With a replacement key coming in two to three days, Kari has no choice to but to hide out with Ken until then. But already we've encountered some trouble with being handcuffed. What else will happen?

  


**Three's Always A Crowd: Part 3**

  


Time was going by very slowly for Kari. It wouldn't be easy for her to stay hidden in Ken's house for the next few days, but it's what had to be done. But there was still something she had to do. She had to call her house and make something up.

"Uh huh…that's right, Mom. Yes, of course Yolei's mom said it was ok. I'll just be there for a few days. Yolei really needs my help with that project and she needs help fixing her laptop. **…** Why doesn't she call Izzy to fix her laptop? **…** Uh, Izzy…can't make it! We tried calling, but he's pretty busy."

"Kari…my arm's getting pretty tired," Davis whined.

With Kari holding up the phone with her left hand, that left one of Davis' arms dangling and it must have been taking its toll. However, that didn't mean Kari wouldn't snap at him.

"Shut up! NO, not you, Mom! **…** What? **…** I can? **…** You're the best, Mom! I'll see you in a few days. Bye!"

Kari hung up the phone and Davis breathed a sigh of relief. Not because Kari was cleared, but because his arm was finally put down and was able to rest. And since Davis and TK already got cleared, saying they would spend the night with Ken, that meant all their problems were solved.

Yolei then looked over the three linked kids again. "You know…maybe I should stay, too. You look like you're gonna need help, Ken. Please let me help you!"

Ken gulped. "Um…I don't know, Yolei. What would your parents say?"

"They wouldn't have to know," Yolei grinned. "I could tell them I'm spending the night at Kari's."

Kari thought about all that. "Ok…so I'm lying about spending the night at Yolei's. Ken's lying about having us over here. And Yolei's about to lie about spending the night with me. I just hope none of us gets caught."

"Me neither," TK added. "This could be really bad if we do. Thanks for helping us out, guys."

"Anytime," Wormmon smiled.

Kari liked that her friends were all willing to help her out. But that's when the worst possible thing that could have happened…happened. Kari started to twitch nervously.

"What's wrong, Kari?" Yolei asked. Then she sweatdropped. "Oh no…don't tell me…"

Kari nodded and confirmed the worst. "I have to go to the bathroom!!"

Upon hearing this, both TK and Davis blushed a bright red. Kari blushed too, out of pure embarrassment. She couldn't believe this was really happening.

* * *

Kari, her four friends, and Wormmon all assembled in Ken's bathroom. She saw the one thing she desperately needed at that point. She saw the toilet. But she also didn't want to go in front of TK or Davis. That was the dilemma. A dilemma that Ken and Yolei were both working on.

"Hmm…we COULD get some blindfolds," Ken suggested.

Yolei looked up at her bandana and took it off. She covered Davis' eyes with it and tied it up like a blindfold. Ken looked around for something he could use and found a workout towel. He covered TK's eyes with it and tied it like a blindfold.

"Is that good enough?" Yolei asked.

Kari shook her head. "No, it's not good enough. Ken, don't you have any earplugs?"

"Earplugs?" Ken repeated.

Kari blushed. "Well…I don't want them to hear me…well…you know…"

"I know exactly what you mean, Kari," Yolei nodded. "Well, Ken? Any earplugs?"

Ken reached over into the medicine cabinet and pulled out two pairs of earplugs. Why Ken even had earplugs in his medicine cabinet, Kari didn't know and she wasn't about to ask. Instead, she let Ken put the earplugs in Davis and TK's ears.

"There! That should do it!" Yolei said proudly. "So go ahead, Kari. Unless there's something else you're waiting for?"

Kari shot Yolei a cold stare.

Yolei sweatdropped. "Oh…right…let's go, Ken."

Yolei dragged Ken out of the bathroom by the hand and shut the door on her way out, leaving Kari alone with TK and Davis, who were both looking up in the air. Even with the blindfolds, they were trying to be gentlemen and look away. Kari at least appreciated that. But she ran into her next little snafu. She reached over to pull down her shorts…but noticed that it would bring their hands a little closer than she'd like. So Kari said only one thing.

"I swear…if EITHER OF YOU try to cop a feel, I will knock your blocks off!!"

Unfortunately, with the earplugs, neither boy was able to hear the threat. Kari was starting to have second thought about going through with this. But she couldn't go on like this, since she needed to go really bad. So she sucked it up and pulled down her shorts, but as she did that, Davis and TK's hands both briefly made contact with Kari's lower thigh. Kari saw that both Davis and TK were blushing very nervously upon making contact.

Kari finally finished going number one and quickly pulled her shorts back up. This time, she noticed that TK and Davis were desperately trying to keep their hands from touching any part of Kari's skin. Kari smiled. They were both trying their best to be perfect gentlemen and that meant a lot to her. Finally, Kari reached over and undid TK's blindfold. And she saw that TK also had his eyes closed. It warmed Kari's heart to see him going out of his way to respect her privacy.

"You can look now, TK," Kari said gently, as she removed his earplugs.

TK opened his eyes and blushed upon seeing Kari's face. "Um…about me…uh…and your leg…I…"

"TK, it's ok," Kari assured him. "It was an accident. Now help me undo Davis' blindfold."

Kari turned to her right to allow TK more access to reach Davis. They both undid his blindfold and much to Kari's surprise, Davis also had his eyes closed. He was also respecting her privacy and that meant a lot to Kari.

Kari giggled. "Davis…you can open your eyes now."

Davis opened his eyes and also blushed upon seeing Kari. "I…I…your leg…I'm so sorry!"

"Davis, it's ok," Kari said comfortingly. "You didn't mean to; it was an accident."

"Oh, that's good," Davis sighed. "I didn't mean anything, Kari. It's those stupid handcuffs. You know I would never ever reach down there…unless you really want me to!"

Kari groaned and stuffed the blindfold in Davis' mouth. "Maybe you should just keep your mouth shut!"

It was all going nicely until Davis opened his mouth. But even his big mouth couldn't take away from the fact that he was respectful of Kari's privacy. And that made Kari happy.

Now that this latest obstacle was cleared, Kari could focus on getting through the rest of the night. So she tried walking out of the bathroom, but TK and Davis stood still and that meant…everyone fell over.

Kari sighed. "We need to be a little more coordinated."

"You aren't the only one who has to go to the bathroom, you know," TK pointed out.

Kari sweatdropped. Before she could even react, she saw TK blindfolding her and Davis putting the earplugs in her ear. Kari sighed and felt her left hand going down…where Davis was obviously undoing his zipper. Kari shivered.

This was more awkward than she thought.

* * *

"Kari…I think you're overreacting."

Kari felt so…dirty. "You don't know what happened, Yolei! I almost touched their…you know."

TK and Davis both blushed a deep shade of red.

"You almost did, but you didn't," Yolei pointed out. "Don't be so melodramatic. You couldn't just ask them to hold it in." She tried wringing out her bandana again. "Kari, did you have to stuff this in Davis' mouth? I have to wear this on my head, you know. If you wanted to shut him up, you should have slapped him or something."

"Kari…I'm sorry if you feel embarrassed," TK said nervously. "I didn't mean to make you feel awkward."

"I just can't believe all this is happening," Kari said for the hundredth time. "And I have no one to blame but you and Davis!"

Davis pointed at TK. "It's more TK's fault than mine!"

"And how do you figure that?!" TK asked angrily.

"Well…nobody TOLD you to handcuff yourself to Kari right after I did," Davis explained calmly. "If you could have just controlled yourself, then it would just be me and Kari handcuffed. But right now, Kari's stuck in the middle and it's all your fault."

TK shook his head. "That…is the most TWISTED explanation I ever heard! Why don't you just admit that you messed up?!"

Ken cleared his throat calmly. "Um…my parents ARE in the other room."

TK sweatdropped. "Oh, sorry. I just hate it when I get these one-sided explanations when it's clear as day that it's all Davis' fault. Isn't it, Kari?"

"Right now, I don't want to look at either of you," Kari growled. "I'm mad at you, Davis, for handcuffing yourself to me in the first place. And I'm mad at you, TK, because you had to follow along! What's wrong with you? That's not like you at all!"

TK turned his head away, obviously taken aback by what Kari said. But Kari meant every word. This was very unlike TK. In fact, TK had been doing a lot of things lately that were unlike him. It was like he was becoming a whole different person and Kari couldn't understand why. Why was he acting so differently?

"I'm sorry," TK said softly. "You're right…this isn't like me. I don't know what's been going on with me lately."

Davis' shot TK a cold glare. "I think I know what it is."

Kari blinked. She didn't know what Davis was talking about, but from the look on TK's face, it looked like he did. Kari didn't understand. Was there something she was missing?

Ken cleared his throat. "Um…it's getting pretty late. Should we make sleeping arrangements?"

Suddenly Kari, TK, and Davis all put their arguments aside and they all gulped simultaneously. Another new obstacle had reared its ugly head.

Silence.

"Well?" Yolei pressed on.

Silence.

Wormmon grinned. "I'll get the blankets."

Kari moaned softly. Sleeping wouldn't be an easy thing for her. Not with Davis stuck to her left wrist and TK stuck to her right one.

This wouldn't be easy. Especially with Ken's room now holding five of them.

  


Next Time: Sorry this chapter was short, but it now sets up…the first night. How will sleeping work? Will ANYONE get any sleep? Come back next time to find out!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	4. The Trouble With Sleeping

Last Time: We ran into more problems. This time in the form of the bathroom. On the upside, Kari was cleared to stay with Ken. On the downside, now it's time to make sleeping arrangements.

  


**Three's Always A Crowd: Part 4**

  


Kari looked down and saw the three pillows spread across the floor of Ken's room. And that would be where Kari, TK, and Davis were to sleep. Unfortunately, this wouldn't be an easy task. Yolei had it easy. She would sleep at the foot of Ken's bed.

Ken was laying on his bed while Yolei was lying down on the floor. But Kari, TK, and Davis were all still on their feet. Ken shot the three of them a glance and they all took the hint. The three turned around, sat on the floor, then laid back. That's when the first troubles of the night began.

Kari instinctively tried to turn over to sleep on her right side. But when she turned to her right, she inadvertently brought TK closer to her and they ended up bumping heads.

"Sorry, TK," Kari moaned, rubbing her head painfully. "I'm just used to sleeping on my right…WHOA!"

Kari and TK were both dragged the other way without warning. Kari was accidentally dragged on top of Davis, who was turning on his left side. Davis turned to his right and Kari fell right on top of him. It was a very compromising position and Kari immediately jumped off, but in doing that, she unintentionally elbowed TK in the jaw. Kari gasped and went to check if he was all right.

Ken sat up. "Any trouble so far?"

"Everything's just fine," Kari said sheepishly.

"Except my jaw," TK slurred.

"TK, I'm SO sorry!" Kari apologized.

"You know, it's really hard to sleep with my arm being dragged around like this," Davis said.

TK growled. "This wouldn't have happened if you'd just use some common sense! Use your head, goggle boy! If we're all stuck to each other, then you have to sleep on your RIGHT side!"

"But I'm used to sleeping on my LEFT side," Davis whined.

"You can't sleep on your left side!" TK snapped. "If you sleep on your left side, you'll drag me and Kari over there. You'll have to sleep on your right side."

"Are you sure?" Davis pleaded.

TK nodded. "You have to sleep on your right side and I have to sleep on my right side. I guess Kari will have to sleep on her back."

Kari didn't like that thought. She had never slept on her back before, but with both her wrists attached to someone, she wouldn't have a choice. Davis scratched the back of his head sheepishly with his left hand. TK sighed and tried lying down. Everyone said their 'good nights' and lied down and tried to sleep.

TK lied down on his left side and Davis lied down on his right side. And Kari was stuck on her back with her arms in very uncomfortable positions. She moaned very softly, knowing that there would be no way for her to get any sleep this way.

* * *

It had been very difficult, but Kari finally felt herself starting to fall asleep. She had never slept on her back before, but that didn't matter because she was actually falling asleep. Maybe it was because she was tired from everything she had gone through on that day.

Kari wanted to ponder everything that had happened these last few days. She even wanted to think about what had happened over these last few months. She was starting to understand what it was that was making TK and Davis like total boneheads. And when she thought of the reason why, it made her feel…

Before Kari could even finish her thought, she felt her left arm rise up. She looked over to see that Davis had woken up…seemingly. He got to his feet…and started walking…which meant dragging Kari and TK with him. TK was now wide-awake and he looked over to see that Davis was walking to the door.

"Davis…what are you doing?" TK yawned.

Kari quickly got to her feet and examined Davis' face. His eyes were open, but he had a blank expression and he was still breathing as if he were asleep. He was talking softly, but his words were incomprehensible. Before she could examine him further, Davis walked right out the door and started heading for the kitchen. But Kari had already drawn her conclusion.

"TK…I think he's sleepwalking."

"Sleepwalking? Then wake him up."

"TK! We can't do that!" Kari whispered loudly. "Don't you know that it's dangerous to wake a sleepwalker?"

"So what are we supposed to do?" TK asked.

His question couldn't even be answered, because Kari and TK both found themselves being dragged along. Davis sleepwalked towards the kitchen and stopped at Ken's refrigerator. Kari and TK just stood half-asleep while Davis…opened the fridge and took out a bowl of lime Jell-O before walking back to Ken's room. Kari and TK just groggily followed along. When they got back, they saw Ken standing right by the door and he looked upset.

"What are you doing?" he whispered loudly. "What if my parents see you?"

"It's not our fault," TK said defensively. "It's the sleepwalker over here."

Ken sighed. "Then wake him up."

Before Kari could protest, Ken shook Davis and he woke up. Davis looked around, completely unaware of his surroundings.

"What happened?" Davis asked.

Kari blinked. "Hey…that wasn't so bad."

"It's not dangerous to wake a sleepwalker," Ken explained. "That's a common misconception. So you should be fine. Just get some sleep."

Davis looked down at the bowl in his hand. "Where'd I get this Jell-O from?"

Kari and TK both sweatdropped. It was obvious that Davis didn't remember a thing. Kari didn't want to admit it, but she sleepwalked herself a few times in her life and when she woke up, she didn't remember a single thing.

Kari decided to explain. "Well…"

"Oh well," Davis interrupted. "As long as I have this in my hand, I won't ask any questions."

With that, Davis started digging in…with his RIGHT hand, which meant he was dragging Kari's left arm around. Kari groaned. She just wanted this whole nightmare to end.

* * *

Kari looked up at Ken's clock, which was up on the wall. It was 4 AM. She still couldn't fall asleep since she once again had to find herself adjusting to sleeping on her back. But just as she was getting used to it, something else happened.

Kari noticed that Davis was starting to shake. His eyes suddenly opened and he tried to rush towards the door. Unfortunately, Davis forgot he was handcuffed…meaning he dragged Kari and TK across the floor. Kari raised her head while TK looked irritated over having ANOTHER rude awakening.

"What…is it…now?" TK growled slowly through gritted teeth.

Davis couldn't stop shaking and twitching. "I…have to go to the bathroom."

"Again?" TK groaned.

"I ate too much Jell-O," Davis moaned.

Davis looked like he could barely hold it in and that's probably why he rushed out of Ken's room without even looking to see if the coast was clear. Unfortunately…it wasn't.

Kari, Davis, and TK all saw Ken's dad groggily heading for the fridge and that meant it was time to hide. They all hid behind one of the larger potted plants. They stayed perfectly still while Ken's dad passed right by them and walked up to the refrigerator.

"Who took my Jell-O?" he yawned.

Leaving empty-handed, Ken's dad walked back and right passed Kari, TK, and Davis without even noticing them. Once Ken's dad was back in his bedroom with the door closed, it was safe to come out. And when the coast was clear, Davis rushed for the bathroom, nearly knocking Kari and TK over unwittingly.

As soon as Davis reached the toilet, Kari immediately closed her eyes. But this time, she had no earplugs to stuff in her ear. But someone did cover her ears as Davis quickly relieved himself. As soon as Davis was done, the hands were off Kari's ears and she turned around to see that it was TK covering her ears.

"Thank you, TK," Kari smiled warmly.

"You're very welcome. Now let's try to get some sleep…unless there's something else Davis needs to do?"

Davis yawned loudly. "No…I'm ready to sleep."

With that, the three made sure that the coast was clear again. And when it was, they all made their way back to Ken's room.

* * *

The sun was starting to rise, but Kari didn't even notice. She had finally fallen asleep and, even on her back, she was still sleeping pretty peacefully. But hours of having slept on her back were starting to leave Kari feeling uncomfortable.

Kari moaned softly and started to turn, unintentionally dragging Davis over. But Davis was fast asleep and didn't even notice. Things stayed like that for another five minutes until Kari started stirring again. But when she stirred this time…her bare feet made contact with TK's leg…

"YEOW!!"

TK nearly jumped and he woke Kari. Kari woke up and accidentally elbowed Davis in the jaw.

"OWWWWW!! My teeth!!"

Kari gasped. "Davis, I'm so sorry!"

Ken and Yolei both woke up and shushed the three of them, knowing that the burst of noise could wake Ken's parents.

"What happened?" Ken asked.

"Sorry," TK sighed. "But Kari, your feet are freezing! They're like ice cubes!"

Kari hesitated before she hugged her legs sheepishly and looked down at her feet. "They are not…are they?" She then felt her left hand being dragged over as Davis was rubbing his jaw painfully with his right hand. "Davis, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you!"

"It's ok, Kari," Davis said cheerfully. "I have plenty more teeth where that came from."

"So…did you three have a good night's sleep?" Yolei asked.

Kari and TK shot Yolei a cold stare while Davis kept rubbing his jaw. What irritated Kari the most was that there was more where this came from. Kari would have to endure this again for at least one more night.

"What time is it?" TK asked tiredly.

Ken looked up at the clock on the wall. "It's…seven."

"Seven?" Kari repeated. "I never wake up this early. Can we try sleeping for a few more hours?"

TK tried lying down. "I guess so, but keep your feet away. If not, then at least put some socks on."

Kari frowned. "My feet are NOT that cold!"

TK lied on his left side and yawned. "I'm sure they aren't. Let's just talk about it…later."

TK was already closing his eyes and Kari decided to follow suit. She laid down on her back again and tried to go to sleep while Davis laid on his right side. Kari wanted to kill as much time as possible…

…because the stage was set for another long day.

  


Next Time: Now that the night's over, it's time to start a new day. Unfortunately, that means getting through the morning SHOWER! Come back next time to see what happens there!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	5. The Morning Shower

Last Time: It was a long night for Kari, TK, and (to a lesser extent) Davis. But a new day is here and that means…new problems. @_@*

  


**Three's Always A Crowd: Part 5**

  


Before Kari could even realize it, it was already ten in the morning and that meant it was time to wake up to a whole new day. And a new day would have been an appealing idea, if Kari didn't remember that she was attached at the wrist to both TK and Davis. Kari wished she could just stay asleep until the key to the handcuffs arrived. But she knew she'd have to get up sooner or later.

Kari opened her eyes and looked up to see Ken was on his feet. He took Wormmon on his shoulder and headed out, but not before looking back at the handcuffed trio.

"Should I bring you any breakfast?" Ken asked.

Kari thought about that. "Well…I AM pretty hungry."

"I don't think we can bring too much up here," Ken pointed out. "I wouldn't want my parents to get suspicious. But if you sit tight, I can bring up a box of cereal. Um…should we wake them up?"

Kari looked to each side of her to see that TK and Davis were both still asleep. She shook her head, wishing she could be sleeping so peacefully.

"Let's give them a few more minutes," Kari replied. "But maybe you should bring up that cereal, though."

Ken and Wormmon exited while Kari just laid back. But she didn't have the quiet for long, because Kari looked straight up to see Yolei standing over her.

"You tired?" Yolei asked.

"What was your first clue?" Kari moaned.

"I can already see the red cracks in your eyes," Yolei answered. "It must be tough to sleep on your back."

"It really is," Kari agreed. "Yolei…I can't take much more of this. Are you sure the key will be here soon?"

"I think we're down to one to two days. Well…unless the mail gets delayed. Then it could be weeks…even months."

"MONTHS? I can't survive like this for that long. I'd rather saw my arms off!"

Yolei looked at the sleeping Davis and shook her head. "Unbelievable. If anyone was ever capable of doing something so stupid, it's Davis." Then she shifted her gaze to TK. "But TK? That surprises me. Since when is HE a bonehead?"

Kari turned her head to look at the sleeping TK and once again thought about his actions as of late. His behavior had become a lot more different since they all came back from the mountain lodge. It led Kari to believe that something up there had changed TK.

"I think I know what it is," Kari said softly.

Yolei blinked. "Is it what I think it is?"

Kari looked at TK and then at Davis. She didn't want it to be what she thought it was. "I hope not."

A few minutes later, Ken and Wormmon came back in with a box of cereal and a carton of milk. Wormmon set the bowls and Kari shook her two friends awake. TK and Davis both sat up and yawned. Davis stretched, but that meant dragging Kari's left arm up in the air also. It wasn't bad, but it just caught her by surprise.

Wormmon poured the cereal and milk in the three bowls and Kari couldn't wait to dig in. But Kari knew the potential disaster that could happen, so she made sure to stop everything and compose a game plan.

"Ok…time out. Let's be organized this time. Let's all take our spoons with our right hand."

TK and Davis blinked, but did as they were told. They took their spoon with their right hand and Kari did the same.

"That's good," Kari continued. "Ok, let's eat with our right hand. NO moving your left hand whatsoever!"

TK and Davis nodded and they all started eating together. It looked like synchronized cereal eating in which the handcuffed threesome displayed solidarity and teamwork. It wasn't the chaotic scene that the Chinese food incident was. It looked like things were looking up and that made Kari feel much better.

Ken looked up at the clock. "Well…it's almost 11 AM and both my parents are gone. So I guess that means you're all cleared to take a shower."

The handcuffed trio all dropped their spoons simultaneously. They all blushed a deep shade of red. A very awkward silence followed.

Kari broke the silence. "No! Uh-uh! Forget it! Absolutely not! NO WAY!"

"You have to clean yourself up eventually, Kari," Yolei said.

"NO! I'll stink for the next few days if I have to!"

"Will you listen to yourself?" Yolei growled. "Kari, you can't just stay dirty! You have to be clean! Don't worry about a thing! Ken and I will both help!"

Ken sweatdropped. "We will?"

Yolei turned to Ken and grinned. "Come on, Ken! Let's work together on this one! You know how much I love working with you."

Ken was reluctant, but he couldn't argue with Yolei. "Well…ok…"

Yolei took TK by the hand and dragged the handcuffed threesome to the bathroom. "Trust me…this will all go smoothly."

Kari sweatdropped. Somehow, she didn't share Yolei's optimism.

* * *

The first one lined up to take a shower was TK. He stood right by the shower door, but the inability to close the shower door completely presented a real predicament. And it was a predicament that Ken and Yolei were both working to overcome.

"We COULD blindfold them again," Ken suggested.

"It's the only thing I can think of," Yolei concurred. "Let's do that. But first…how do we undress them?"

The threesome sweatdropped again.

Ken looked over at TK's shirt. "There's no way we'll be able to take this off with those handcuffs. I'm afraid we'll have to cut it."

TK gulped. "Cut it? This shirt?"

Yolei took out a pair of scissors. "I'm afraid so. Now stand still, TK."

Before TK could protest any further, Yolei began cutting the left sleeve of his shirt. Once the sleeve was cut off, Yolei was able to pull off the rest of TK's shirt. Kari couldn't help but notice the shirtless TK. Both of them blushed furiously. Kari turned her head to keep things from getting any more awkward, but she only turned to see Davis…who was shooting TK a death glare.

With TK's shirt now off, Ken and Yolei focused on blindfolding Kari and Davis. Kari could now feel her right wrist being pulled into the shower.

"Um…Yolei…this is private," TK said tensely.

"Oh…sorry," Yolei giggled nervously.

Kari then felt her arm going up and down as TK must have been removing…the rest of his clothes. She felt her hand go all over the place as TK removed his socks, shorts, and…unmentionables. Kari blushed and was almost shivering. This was too embarrassing for her and she wanted it to be over soon.

The hot water began to splash all over Kari's right hand and TK began cleaning himself up. But it felt like TK was making sure to do most of his cleansing with his right hand, so as to keep things as less awkward as possible for Kari.

"Kari…" Davis whispered to her. "I know this has been really weird for you. It's been pretty weird for me, too. But maybe TK's right. Maybe it is my fault."

"Maybe?" Kari growled.

"Ok, it IS my fault," Davis sighed. "I just wanted to say I'm really sorry and I'll never do something this stupid again. Please don't be mad at me."

Kari wished she could look Davis in the eye, but she couldn't with that blindfold. "Well…it's not easy for me to forgive something like this. Why don't you ask me again when these handcuffs are off?"

Davis sighed affirmatively. It looked like it was the least he was hoping for. Kari couldn't lie to him; she was still upset with them about all of this and that wasn't going to change until these handcuffs were off. Kari had never felt so embarrassed and she would never forget this incident.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the water shut off and TK was finally fished showering. TK stepped out and Kari felt her right arm moving around as he changed into a new set of clothes. Of course, they were KEN'S clothes. Soon though, there was a sudden stop.

"Uh…Ken? Yolei?" TK called out.

Kari heard the bathroom door open, indicating that Ken and Yolei both came in. And apparently they found the sight safe to see, so they came over and removed the blindfolds. TK was wearing some of Ken's usual clothes, which was really quite a sight to behold. Unfortunately, she also saw TK was still without a shirt and that left Kari blushing furiously.

"You couldn't keep me blindfolded?" Kari whined.

"Oh, don't pretend like you don't like it," Yolei teased.

Kari and TK both blushed while Davis was also turning red…but for completely different reasons. They both examined TK and thought about the obvious dilemma that presented itself. HOW would they get a shirt on TK with his left arm inaccessible? That's when Ken got an idea and headed for his closet.

Ken brought in a terry-cloth robe and put in on TK's right arm, but left the left sleeve dangling. But Ken had the sense to tie the robe around TK's waist, so it wouldn't fall down.

"That's a great idea, Ken," Yolei smiled. "You got an extra one for Davis?"

"Let's hope so," Ken sighed. "Well, Davis. It's your turn."

With that, Yolei and Ken got the blindfolds and blindfolded Kari and TK. Then they cut a sleeve from Davis' shirt and took his shirt off before they walked out again. Then Kari felt her left arm move around as Davis undressed and then stepped into the shower. Once again, Kari felt the hot running water. And there was another awkward silence…until TK began speaking to her.

"Kari…" TK began. "Maybe Davis is right. Just because he did something this stupid didn't mean I had to follow along and do the same thing. And you're right, too. This really isn't like me. I want to apologize. Can you forgive me?"

"I want to forgive you, TK," Kari replied. "But that it isn't that simple. Do you know the embarrassment I've felt in these last 48 hours? Do you know how weird everything feels?" As if on cue, Kari felt her left hand running over Davis'…chest. "Davis, for your own safety, that BETTER be an accident!!" Then she turned her attention back to TK. "You see, TK? I've never felt this awkward before and I have no one to blame but you and Davis. Yeah, Davis started this but things wouldn't be as they are if you hadn't done the exact same thing."

"So…you won't forgive me?" TK asked sadly.

"Why don't you ask me again when this is all over?" Kari suggested. "I need to think about it."

Kari wasn't ready to forgive, but she did realize that TK was being very sincere with her. He really was sorry about doing this and Kari appreciated that. She knew he would never deliberately hurt her and maybe when this was all over, she would accept his apology.

Finally, Davis had finished taking his shower and stepped out. Kari once again felt her left arm move around as Davis dressed himself.

"Um…Ken? Yolei?"

The bathroom door opened again and Ken and Yolei removed the blindfolds. Kari turned her head to see that Davis was also wearing the same clothes that Ken usually wears…with the notable exception of a shirt. Davis was shirtless and Kari was blushing again.

Unfortunately, that went to Davis' head. "Kari, you don't have to feel weird about this. It's natural to react that way when you see the perfect body."

"Oh, DON'T flatter yourself," TK groaned.

Yolei, obviously also irked by Davis' ego, quickly put Ken's extra robe on him. The right sleeve was left hanging loose and she tied the robe by the waist. That's when the biggest problem of all came up. Ken brought up the obvious question.

"Ok…so what do we do about Kari?"

Kari sweatdropped. Since she was attached at both wrists, she couldn't get into the shower. That left quite the predicament.

How would Kari clean herself up?

  


Next Time: That's the big question. How will KARI clean herself up? Ken and Yolei get a new idea, but is it really THAT easy? This will be MUCH HARDER than it looks (and that's saying a lot)! So come back tomorrow and see what happens!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	6. Bath Time!

Last Time: We got to probably the most awkward moment possible and that's the shower scene. TK and Davis both managed to shower without much trouble, but now there's Kari in the middle. How will THIS problem be solved?

  


**Three's Always A Crowd: Part 6**

  


Kari gulped for about the hundredth time that day. There was NO WAY she wanted TK and Davis to see what she looked like under her clothes, but there was really no way to work around this latest predicament. There was no way for Kari to fit inside the shower because she was attached at BOTH wrists.

Ken and Yolei were both scratching their chins and had their brains running a mile a minute trying to come up with the best solution. That's when Yolei looked like she had an idea.

"I think I got it!" she said cheerfully. "Ken…do you have a tub anywhere?"

"Just the one in my parents' bathroom," Ken answered. "Why do you ask?"

Yolei explained her idea. "If we can't fit Kari in the shower…then we'll just have to give her a SPONGE BATH!"

That was the most awkward thing to be suggested during this whole traumatic incident. Kari, TK, and Davis all blushed. Even Ken was blushing at this latest suggestion.

"Um…w-what do you mean 'we'?" Ken gulped.

Yolei sweatdropped. "Oh, of course! What am I thinking? I meant I'LL have to give her a sponge bath."

"Yolei…are you sure about this?" Kari asked nervously.

"Kari, I think we're out of options at this point," Yolei pointed out. "Trust me, it won't be that bad and I'll…try not to look too much. Now let's get up to the other bathroom and get this over with. We'll make it as painless as possible."

Kari couldn't believe any of this. Now she was down to taking a sponge bath. She couldn't even begin to describe how weird this felt. She just wanted this whole horrible episode in her life to be over.

* * *

"Ok…we'd better start cutting."

At this point, Kari was looking straight into the filled bathtub. Ken was standing outside the bathroom and TK and Davis were already blindfolded. Now it was just Kari and Yolei. Yolei already had the scissors in her hand and she had begun cutting Kari's shirt at both sleeves so it could be removed. The shirt was now cut in two pieces and Kari just stood in a bra and her shorts. Kari was bashfully about to remove everything else, when Yolei quickly stopped her.

"Wait! I have an idea!"

Yolei reached under the faucet for a box of bubble bath. Yolei poured about half the box in so the clear water was now covered in bubbles. Kari knew exactly what Yolei had in mind. With the bubbles there, it would be much harder to see all of Kari. Yolei was respecting her privacy.

Yolei shut her eyes. "Ok…take everything else off and step into the tub. I promise I won't look."

Kari felt better that Yolei respected her modesty. So she stepped out of everything else and stepped into the tub while Yolei kept her eyes shut.

"Hey…these bubbles feel squishy," Davis said.

Once Kari was covered by the bubbles, there was only one more issue. "Yolei…could you open your eyes and take off my…you know."

TK and Davis obviously knew what she was referring to and blushed furiously. Yolei bashfully undid Kari's bra and moved it to the side, accidentally brushing it across Davis' arm.

"D-D-Did I just feel what I thought I felt?" Davis squeaked. He sounded like he was ready to faint.

As the minutes went on, Kari was more and more grateful for Yolei's idea. The bubbles hardly left a single body part visible, leaving Yolei a little more comfortable, but not completely comfortable. Kari, on the other hand, WAS comfortable. But after a few more minutes, Yolei handed the sponge to Kari.

"Um…maybe YOU should scrub yourself…you know…down there?"

Again, TK and Davis knew what Yolei was referring to and they both blushed a deep shade of red. Kari agreed since she didn't want to put Yolei in any more awkward positions. She took the sponge in her left hand and started scrubbing herself in her lower regions. But once again, Davis' right hand brushed across Kari's middle thigh. Davis finally couldn't take anymore and…

****THUD****

…he fainted.

Kari started to sympathize with poor Davis. This must have been too much for him. But with him knocked out, it made things a little easier. Kari kept scrubbing until she needed to switch hands. She took the sponge in her right hand and continued cleaning, but TK's hand brushed against Kari's other thigh and…

****THUD****

…he also fainted.

That didn't make things easier because now Kari had to drag the dead weight of their arms around. But knowing the boys were unconscious made things a little easier and Kari was finally able to finish her bath.

Yolei closed her eyes and handed Kari a towel. She dried herself off and changed into a fresh change of clothes. Luckily, Yolei brought her an extra pair of underwear, even though Yolei's underwear fit a little big on Kari. Kari then put on a pair of Ken's pants and ran into her next big problem. A new problem that came with being attached at BOTH wrists.

"Um…Yolei…how do I put a shirt on?"

Yolei blinked. "That's…a VERY good question. KEN! We have a problem!!"

Unfortunately, the bathroom door opened. "What's the pro…AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

Kari desperately covered her upper body with the towel, but the damage was already done. Ken had already seen her with nothing more than a bra. And to make things even worse, the shrieks brought TK and Davis to their senses.

"W-Where am I?" TK asked.

"D-Did I feel what I thought I felt?" Davis squeaked again.

"Can you try knocking next time, Ken?!" Yolei shouted. "What if Kari was naked?!"

"Kari's naked?!" TK and Davis both asked timidly. Upon hearing those two words…

****THUD****

…both boys fainted again.

"Oh grow up," Yolei groaned softly.

Ken sat and faced the wall. "Ok…I see we have another problem."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Yolei asked. "We can't put a shirt on her if she's attached at BOTH wrists!"

There was a long period of silence and that left Kari feeling very worried. She couldn't keep TK and Davis blindfolded forever and even if she could, she didn't want to walk around with just a bra. It was embarrassing, but there didn't appear to be any answer.

"I think I may have something," Ken suddenly said. "I have an old poncho Kari might be able to use. Wait here, I'll be right back!"

"Make sure to KNOCK this time!" Yolei growled.

Ken quickly ran out and looked through his closet. He came back, knocked on the door, and came back in with his eyes closed. He had a yellow poncho in his hand. The sleeveless piece of clothing was just what the doctor ordered. Ken held it out and Yolei took it and put it over Kari's head. Kari felt relieved. Now she had something to cover up with.

"Can I open my eyes now?" Ken asked nervously.

"Yes, Ken," Yolei smiled. "Open your eyes."

Ken opened his eyes and looked at the handcuffed threesome strangely. Kari didn't know why until she turned towards the mirror. She was in a poncho and pants, stuck between two boys in gray pants and robes.

Finally, TK and Davis came to their senses again. Yolei and Ken removed their blindfolds and they also got to see what they all looked like in the mirror. It was an unusual picture to say the least.

"Um…I think this should work for the next day or two," Ken thought.

"Well…look at it this way," Davis grinned. "At least things can't get any worse."

"DON'T say that!" TK snapped.

"Say what?" Davis asked ignorantly.

TK calmly explained himself. "Whenever somebody says something like that, things ALWAYS get worse!"

****RING****

Kari felt something in her stomach sink. It couldn't REALLY be happening. Were things REALLY about to get worse?

Ken ran and answered the cordless phone. "Hello? … Um…yeah, he's here. … Ok, just a second. TK, it's for you. It's Matt."

TK looked like he was on death row as he took the phone. "H-Hello? Hi, Matt. **…** What? You left it in my apartment? **…** HUH?! NOW? **…** Uh…I'm a little tied up at the moment. Can't Mom or Dad bring it to you? **…** Huh? **…** Mom and Dad are both working. **…** Matt…do I really have to? This is NOT the best time! **…** Uh huh. **…** Yeah, I remember when you took me to get Kari's Christmas present. **…** Yes, I remember I said I owed you one. **…** Yes, I know you could beat me up if I refuse. **...** Well…ok, since you put it that way, I'll be right there. Bye."

TK slowly hung up the phone and he looked like he wanted to jump off a cliff. And that made Kari VERY afraid.

"W-What happened?" Kari asked, fearing the worst.

"I…owe Matt a little favor," TK answered. "He needs me to pick up his guitar at my apartment and bring it to him at the high school."

Kari nearly turned white. "You mean we have to go out IN PUBLIC like this?!?! I'm wearing nothing but a BRA under this poncho!!! I CAN'T go out like this!!!"

"It gets worse," TK continued. "Matt needs the guitar by 5 o'clock."

"So what are we supposed to do?!" Kari demanded. "Go out in public like this?! Let MATT see us like this?! Is there anything else that can happen?!"

"I have to go to the bathroom," Davis blurted out.

That was the last straw for Kari. "AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! I can't take this anymore! SOMEBODY SAW MY ARMS OFF!!"

Yolei started shaking Kari frantically. "Kari Kamiya, CALM DOWN! This isn't as bad as it sounds. It might be a little hard, but we CAN do this! We just have to think hard!"

There was a long silence that followed. Everyone started to put their heads together…except for Davis, who was twitching because he still needed to go to the bathroom.

"I heard a lot of yelling come from in here. Is everything ok?"

Everyone turned to the bathroom door to see…little Wormmon.

Ken smiled. "Everything's ok…now."

Kari, TK, and Davis turned to face Ken. The boy genius obviously had something up his sleeve. But what did he have in mind?

  


Next Time: Will the trip back to Odaiba be any less painful? And how can Kari, TK, and Davis bring Matt his guitar…without revealing their predicament? Is it even possible?

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	7. Making A Delivery

Last Time: With TK and Davis blindfolded, Kari was given a sponge bath. And as if things couldn't get any worse, TK now needs to make a delivery to his older brother, Matt. There's immediate fear of going out in public since TK and Davis are wearing nothing more than robes and pants while Kari's stuck in pants and a poncho. But that's when Ken gets an idea.

  


**Three's Always A Crowd: Part 7**

  


After taking Davis to the bathroom (AGAIN!), everyone had now converged in Ken's backyard. No matter how much Kari wished for this all to be over, things only appeared to get worse. Not only was she STILL handcuffed to TK and Davis, but now TK had to bring Matt his guitar. And as soon as he did, there would naturally be a lot of questions. But Kari had a bigger fear and that was going out in public like this. It was hard enough to take the subway the first time, but now things would only get worse.

"So what's the plan, Ken?" Kari asked.

"Well…you all need to make a delivery before 5 o'clock," Ken explained. "And you obviously can't go into the subway like that. But…what if you didn't take the subway? What if you were to FLY back to Odaiba?"

Kari blinked. "Fly?"

Ken glanced at his Digimon companion. "Go ahead, Wormmon."

Wormmon smiled. "Ok, Ken."

****Wormmon…Digivolve to…Stingmon!****

Kari now looked up to see the much-bigger Stingmon. The bug-eyed Stingmon quickly flew a few feet in the air to demonstrate Ken's idea. Kari knew exactly what Ken had in mind now.

"Stingmon can carry you back to Odaiba," Ken said proudly. "Your weight shouldn't be a problem at all. He's got enough strength to carry you there and back whenever you're done."

"That's good thinking, Ken!" Davis exclaimed. "Now we shouldn't have any problems at all!"

"That's nice to hear, Davis," Ken grinned. "Now you can concentrate on what you're going to tell Matt when he sees you all handcuffed to each other."

Davis sweatdropped. "I'll think of something. I always do."

Yolei snickered. "I'm glad I won't have to see that. HEY!!"

Before Yolei could say anything else, Stingmon picked her up and put her over his shoulder. Yolei tried pounding on the champion Digimon's back, but to no avail. Stingmon wasn't about to put her down.

"Who said YOU weren't going?" Ken grinned.

"You mean I have to go, too?" Yolei whined.

"You've come this far," Ken pointed out. "You might as well go along with them."

"You're just as big a part of this as I am," Yolei shot back. "You should be going, too!"

Ken shook his head. "I can't. I have to wait here in case the key comes in the mail."

Yolei groaned. "Ok, fine! I'll go! Just tell him to put me down!"

Upon hearing that, Ken signaled and Stingmon placed Yolei gently on the ground. Now that everything was agreed upon, it was time to go.

Stingmon walked up to the handcuffed threesome and paused momentarily to think about how he was going to do this. Then he picked Kari up by her waist while TK and Davis held on for dear life on the big bug's own waist. With his other arm, Stingmon picked up Yolei.

"Keep them safe, Stingmon," Ken instructed. "I don't want to hear that you dropped Yolei on your way to Odaiba."

"That's NOT funny, Ken!" Yolei shouted angrily.

With his four passengers in hand, Stingmon took flight and flew high in the sky. His destination: Odaiba. More specifically…TK's apartment.

* * *

After about a five-minute flight, Stingmon finally landed behind the apartment complex. The flight was very brief, but Kari was counting down the seconds until it ended because she kept getting the feeling that the wind was blowing up her poncho. And that made Kari feel VERY uncomfortable.

Once Stingmon landed, he put Yolei down gently on the ground. But putting the handcuffed trio down was a little more difficult. Kari landed on her feet, but both TK and Davis fell over and took her down with them. They all picked themselves up and TK reached into his pocket. He pulled out a pair of keys and handed them to Yolei.

"Get into my apartment and look for the guitar. I think Matt left it in the first closet to your left."

Yolei took the keys and ran into the apartment complex, leaving Kari, TK, and Davis standing in the back alone with Stingmon.

"Well…I've got to admit," Kari thought. "This wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be."

"Yeah, it really wasn't," TK agreed.

"I was actually expecting much worse," Davis added.

Unfortunately, things got worse. Kari heard a familiar sound. She turned around to see that Stingmon…

"NO!!" the handcuffed threesome all shouted. "DON'T DEVOLVE YET!!"

It was too late. Stingmon had devolved back to his in-training form, Minomon. Kari couldn't believe her luck. It would take hours for the larva-like Digimon to Digivolve back to Wormmon and it would take even longer for Wormmon to be able to Digivolve back to Stingmon. That left the obvious question.

"So…if he's Minomon now…who's flying us back?" Davis asked.

That seemed to be the most obvious question, but before anyone could answer, Yolei came back out. And she had Matt's guitar in her hand. That's when she also noticed Minomon.

"That's…not a good thing, is it?" Yolei mused.

"So what are we supposed to do about getting back to Ken's house?" Kari asked.

"Ken's not the only one with a flying Digimon, you know," Yolei pointed out. "All I have to do is make a quick call to the Digital World and get Hawkmon down here."

"We can do that when we get back," TK said. "But we're on a deadline. Let's get this down to the high school. Even though now that means…we'll have to WALK there."

Kari took a seat and hugged her legs. "No way! There's no way I'm going to let people see me in JUST this poncho!"

"I can't let anybody see me in JUST this robe!" Davis added. He sat right beside Kari.

"You think I want people to see me like this?" TK pointed out. "But you aren't the ones with a big brother breathing down your neck! We HAVE to go!"

Yolei cleared her throat. "Uh…I think I'm starting to understand why Ken wanted me to come along."

* * *

Kari, TK, and Davis stayed ducked behind a bush while Yolei, who was carrying Matt's guitar in her hand and Minomon on her shoulder, stood out in the open. It had been like this for the past several minutes. Yolei would look ahead to see if anyone was coming and when the coast was clear, she waved them all forward. It was like one big stealth mission…except the main task was simply to get to the high school.

Yolei looked out again and waved them all forward. "Ok, all clear."

Kari, TK, and Davis moved forward and ducked behind another bush. Kari could only hope that things would stay this easy. But suddenly, Yolei gasped. Kari got a sinking feeling…and she soon found out what made Yolei gasp like that.

"Oh, hey Yolei!"

"Uh…hi Sora!"

Bad luck had struck again. Of all the places to run into sixteen-year-old Sora Takenouchi, this was the one place Kari didn't want to see her. This was only making things more difficult…and awkward.

"Is that Matt's guitar?" Sora asked.

Yolei smiled sheepishly. "Uh…yeah…Matt asked me to deliver it to him."

"You know, I've been meaning to see Matt today," Sora said. "How about I come with you?"

Kari, TK, and Davis all sweatdropped. They all crossed their fingers in the hope that Yolei would be able to come up with some excuse to keep Sora away. Unfortunately…

"Um…sure."

…she didn't.

Things got a hundred times harder now that Sora was tagging along. Kari, TK, and Davis soon found that they were on their own. So they watched Yolei and Sora as they were walking down to the high school. They waited for everything to be clear before running in a straight line down the street to duck behind another bush. But Kari looked up and realized that they wouldn't have to do much more hiding. After a few more minutes, they had already made it. They had made it to Odaiba High.

Once the coast was clear again, the handcuffed threesome walked behind Yolei and Sora to the high school's auditorium. Yolei stood by the closed door while the other three stood behind some more shrubs.

TK whispered out into the open. "Ok, Yolei…go inside and deliver the guitar. Tell Matt I had something to do…"

"Hey, TK."

Kari sweatdropped when she heard that voice. It was the worst thing that could have happened at that moment, but the auditorium door flew open and out came sixteen-year-old Matt Ishida. But luckily, he wasn't focused on TK's wrist, but on his guitar…and Sora.

"Hey Sora! I wasn't expecting you."

"I'm more than happy to surprise you," Sora beamed. "You're lucky I ran into Yolei down the street. But…why'd you say 'TK'? I don't see TK anywhere."

TK tried to duck in the bush along with Kari and Davis. But there was no hiding from the observant eye of Matt Ishida.

"Don't you see him? He's right here. Come on out, TK."

TK sheepishly stepped out into the open, but made sure to keep his left wrist hidden from sight. But Kari knew this was only delaying the inevitable. There was WAY too much to hide from and their luck couldn't last.

"I can't believe I forgot my guitar back at Mom's place. But we can't have rehearsal without it. Thanks for bringing it…TK…uh…what are you wearing?"

Kari closed her eyes, unable to even look at what was about to happen. But TK tried as best he could to keep his cool and act naturally.

Sora blinked. "That's…a nice robe, TK."

"Um…I told you that you caught me at a bad time," TK gulped. "Uh…I…tore my shirt…on…"

"…Ken's fence!" Yolei piped up.

"Oh…well, you should put the other sleeve on," Matt said. "Let me help you with…"

Silence.

Kari felt a hand on her wrist. She couldn't keep her eyes closed anymore, but that didn't mean she wasn't petrified. She slowly turned her head to her left to see that Matt had a hand on her handcuffed wrist. To say that he and Sora had a look of shock would be a total understatement.

No longer able to hide, everyone came out of the shrubs. Matt and Sora were now seeing TK, Kari, and Davis all side-by-side…all handcuffed to each other. And that's when Matt and Sora asked the obvious questions.

"Kari…TK…Davis? Why are you handcuffed to each other? What are you three wearing?"

"TK…are those MY handcuffs?"

TK gulped and answered Matt's question first. "Well…I may have borrowed them."

"You DO know I lost the key, right?" Matt pointed out.

"I do now," TK muttered.

"What's going on here?" Sora asked. "Why are the three of you handcuffed to each other…wearing THAT?"

TK immediately shot Davis a cold stare. "Well, you started this! You explain!"

"M-M-Me?" Davis stammered. "Well…I might have handcuffed myself to Kari to try a magic trick, but it ended up backfiring. But it's as much TE's fault as it is mine, because HE handcuffed himself to her other wrist!"

"S-So…this isn't what I think it is?" Sora asked.

Kari thought about that. "Why? What do you think this………………OH MY GOD, NO!!! IT'S NOT THAT AT ALL!!!"

"No menage-a-trois?" Matt asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"NO!!" Kari shouted. "Never! Especially not with THESE TWO!!"

TK and Davis both hung their heads down, both realizing that they were still on Kari's bad side.

"The only reason we're all like this is because neither of us has a key," TK explained.

"And we can't even break these things!" Davis added. "We tried everything!"

"So…does this mean what I think it does?" Sora asked.

Kari sighed and nodded. "We're all stuck like this."

Slowly, a smiled appeared on Matt's face. And that's when he started laughing. Kari, TK, and Davis sweatdropped, but the laughter grew contagious because soon Sora was laughing right along with him.

"Stop that!" TK growled. "This isn't funny!"

"You don't know how hard it's been for me to go to the bathroom like this!" Davis whined.

Matt tried to hold in his laughter. "I'll bet it HAS been hard. I mean…I can imagine. Eating…sleeping…going to the bathroom…all while attached at the wrist." Finally, he couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into laughter again.

"I'm sorry, Kari," Sora said, trying to hold back her own laughter. "This has to be the worst for you. I mean…being stuck at one wrist is bad, but being stuck at BOTH WRISTS? That's gotta be…" Sora fell back and resumed her laughter.

Kari couldn't believe this. She was feeling beyond humiliated and all Matt and Sora could do was laugh. She wanted this whole traumatic nightmare to be over.

Kari turned to TK and Davis. "Well, I hope you two are happy! We'll NEVER hear the end of this!"

Davis tried to put a positive spin on this. "Well…at least it can't get any worse."

But just then...

"Matt? What are you laughing about out there?"

Upon hearing that voice, Kari turned completely white. Her knees immediately started shaking and she felt her stomach sink. She said this about a lot of the scenarios of the past few days, but this time she truly meant it. This was the WORST thing that could have possibly happened. She turned her head to see that TK and Davis were both completely frozen and catatonic when they heard the same voice.

The voice…of Tai Kamiya.

  


Next Time: What…do I EVEN need to tell you what's about to happen?! Just come back next time…and watch the fireworks go off!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	8. Big Brother's Watching

Last Time: Kari, Davis, and TK made their delivery and no matter how much Yolei tried to cover for them, it didn't help. Matt and Sora discovered their little problem…and completely rolled over in laughter. But someone else wants to see what the fuss is about. It's TAI!

  


**Three's Always A Crowd: Part 8**

  


Kari would have given anything to be away from Odaiba High School at that moment. She desperately wanted to be anywhere else in the world. But with her wrists still stuck to TK and Davis, she couldn't escape. And a few seconds later…she was looking right at her older brother, Tai, who still hadn't noticed the problem yet.

"I just had to see what was so funny, Matt," Tai said. "I…………**KARI?!**"

Kari sweatdropped and sheepishly raised her wrists, revealing the handcuffs. Tai's jaw dropped wide-open. And there was no telling what he was about to do. But whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

She knew Tai wasn't really a violent person…not anymore, anyway. But if there was one thing he was, it was protective of his little sister. And it was safe to say that Tai was about to snap. Matt and Sora knew that and started to step back. Yolei took this opportunity to hide in the shrubs.

Tai started to inch closer to them and TK and Davis knew it was time to run for their lives. They immediately turned to run, but they were still attached at the wrist to Kari, so their running only resulted in the handcuffed threesome falling over. Tai reached over and picked them all up by each pair of handcuffs.

"What's THIS supposed to be?!" Tai demanded.

In the face of impending doom, Davis Motomiya could only think of one way to defend himself. He pointed at TK.

"It's all his fault!"

TK turned and shot Davis a death glare. "MY fault?! This was YOUR idea! YOU started it!"

Davis came back with the same argument from before. "But no one told you to do the same thing! No wonder Kari's mad at you right now!"

"She's madder at you!"

"No, she's madder at you!" Davis shot back. "And I'll prove it!"

Davis lifted his right wrist and moved it towards TK's face. Kari's left hand ended up striking TK across the cheek.

"See? She just hit you!"

TK was ready to explode. "Oh yeah?!" He lifted his left wrist and moved it towards Davis' face. Kari's right hand struck Davis across his cheek. "Well, she just hit YOU!"

Davis responded by slapping TK in the face with Kari's left hand.

In turn, TK responded by slapping Davis in the face with Kari's right hand.

Then Davis slapped TK with Kari's hand.

And then TK slapped Davis with Kari's other hand.

And it went on…

…and on…

…and on…

…and on…

"STOP IT!!!" Kari shrieked.

Kari finally put an end to the madness by elbowing both boys in the stomach. She hated to have to do that, but they were both being completely immature. And their attitudes weren't helping matters at all…because Tai didn't look happy at all. And he shot Kari a cold stare.

"Kari…you want to explain this?"

Kari could explain herself easily. "We're stuck to each other! And it's all because of Davis and TK!"

Davis now sounded like he was pleading for his life. "I just wanted to show Kari a magic trick! I didn't think I needed a key!"

"I thought I could do the trick, too!" TK added. "I didn't know Matt lost the key!"

"Those are your handcuffs?" Tai asked Matt curiously.

"I forgot all about those old things," Matt said casually. "Nice to see TK found a good use for them."

"You think using them to handcuff himself to my sister is a GOOD use?!" Tai demanded.

"Oh relax, Tai," Matt said calmly. "It's not like TK does this sort of thing all the time."

"But doesn't that bother you a little?" Sora pointed out. "This is unlike him. TK never does this sort of thing. Now DAVIS I'd expect this from."

"Hey!"

"Well, it's true."

"So TK hasn't been himself lately," Matt shrugged. "Isn't it obvious why?"

Sora blinked. "No…why?"

"Yeah, why don't you share with us?" Tai added.

Matt looked over at the handcuffed trio. Kari didn't know what to do. She honestly didn't know what to say and she didn't know how to respond to what she KNEW Matt was going to say. She looked to her right to see that TK was shaking his head, almost pleading with his big brother not to say anything. And then she looked to her left, to see Davis had an angry look on his face, as if he was ALSO aware of what Matt was about to reveal.

Matt thought better of saying anything out loud. So instead, he leaned over and whispered his theory in Sora's ear and then in Tai's.

Sora gasped and brought a hand to her mouth. "Oh…" She blushed.

Tai didn't quite react that way. "And you think that's an excuse?"

"I never said it was an excuse," Matt pointed out. "I just think that's why he might have done it."

"Well, I don't care WHY he did it!" Tai huffed. "I just care that he DID IT! Him AND Davis! And I'm not about to let them stay handcuffed! Kari, you take those handcuffs off RIGHT NOW!!"

"Brilliant idea, Tai," Kari grumbled sarcastically. "You think I haven't WANTED to get these stupid things off?! You think I WANT to be stuck like this?! You don't know everything I've had to go through! The eating…the bathroom…the sleeping…THE SHOWER!!"

A vein popped out of Tai's head and he turned beet red. "THE SHOWER?!?!"

"I didn't see a thing!" Davis squeaked. The infuriated Tai had him cowering in fear. "I swear! Maybe TG did, but I didn't!"

"I didn't see a thing, either," TK added. "We were blindfolded and even if we weren't…Tai, you KNOW I would never disrespect Kari like that! I'll ALWAYS respect her privacy!"

Kari almost realized she had just about signed her friends' death warrants with that. "Tai, calm down! They didn't see me! Yolei and Ken helped us through this. The only thing is…well…I can't really put a shirt on like this, so I'm just wearing this poncho."

Matt blinked. "Does that mean you're in nothing but a bra under there?"

Kari nodded sheepishly.

"And TK hasn't looked at all," Matt said matter-of-factly. "So there you go, Tai. He respects Kari and you know that, so there's no need for you to pound my little brother. You can pound Davis all you want, though."

Davis gulped. "NO! I'M SORRY!"

"Maybe we should worry about who's pounding who later," Sora said. "I think the important thing is helping them get those handcuffs off."

"But we've tried everything we could think of," Yolei chimed in. "It's almost like those handcuffs are unbreakable."

"Then you haven't gone to the right person," Tai responded. "I'LL break those handcuffs even if it kills me…and TK and Davis."

TK and Davis sweatdropped and Kari could only breath a sigh of somewhat-relief. Her big brother had come to her rescue…again. But she only wished he didn't have to find out about this in the first place. It was SO embarrassing.

Tai picked TK and Davis up by the ear and started dragging them into one of the high school's other facilities. Kari could only follow along, since she was still attached at the wrist.

Hopefully, that wouldn't last much longer with Tai on the case now.

* * *

"Tai…are you sure we should be in here?" Sora asked.

Kari couldn't believe Tai was about to go THIS far. It looked like things were about to get much more dangerous and it looked like TK and Davis knew it, too. Matt could only look on in amazement at Tai's brashness/stupidity. Yes, Tai Kamiya had dragged the handcuffed threesome into…

…Odaiba High's CHEMISTRY LAB.

"This HAS to work," Tai said confidently. "We have over 100 different kinds of chemicals in this lab. There has to be SOMETHING we could use to melt handcuffs."

"Those aren't your handcuffs, you know," Matt said dryly.

"And that's not YOUR little sister!" Tai shot back.

"I know it's your sister," Matt argued. "And that's why I can't believe you'd use something dangerous like chemical compounds around her…AND MY LITTLE BROTHER!!"

Davis sheepishly raised his left hand. "Doesn't anyone care what happens to me?"

"**NO!!**" both Tai and Matt shouted.

Tai shook his head. "Matt, you talk as if I don't know what I'm doing. Trust me. I know EXACTLY what I'm doing."

"I don't know, Tai," Sora said skeptically. "This sort of thing needs supervision from an adult, a teacher, or Izzy. I mean, you don't exactly look like the scientist type."

Tai reached over and grabbed three random beakers full of chemicals. "I'm a great scientist. And I'll prove it. Watch as I make something that'll melt those handcuffs in no time at all."

Tai started randomly mixing the chemicals together and then started shaking them…

****BOOM****

…until they literally blew up in his face. Tai's face was left black with soot and…

"TAI!" Sora gasped. "Your hair's on fire!"

Tai looked up and saw a flame had ignited on his head. "AAH!! Put it out!!"

Yolei quickly reached for the nearest fire extinguisher and handed it to Matt. He sprayed the white CO2 all over Tai's hair. The fire was quickly extinguished, but it left Tai's head white all over.

Sora crossed her arms and shook her head. "Great scientist, huh?"

"A regular Einstein," Matt added.

Tai didn't let that little setback get him down. "It was good for a first try. But we've got the rest of the day. And none of us are leaving until those handcuffs are off my little sister!"

Kari sweatdropped and from the look on TK and Davis' faces, they looked like they were expecting only the worst to happen. Tai went over and reached for a white lab coat and goggles. And he reached for more random beakers filled with unknown compounds. Kari's big brother had a look of determination on his face.

"Let's see what else we can do."

  


Next Time: So now we move on to the Chemistry Lab. Can Tai come up with anything to melt the handcuffs? Can he keep from KILLING everyone in the process? Or will this just turn out to be yet another in a long line of good-intentioned disasters? Come back next time to find out!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	9. Chemicals, Fire, and FREEDOM!

Last Time: Tai found out about Kari's predicament. And miraculously, TK and Davis are still alive. But now Tai is 100% focused on getting the handcuffs off his little sister and he'll do whatever he has to do. And that means going into the Odaiba High School Chemistry Lab!

  


**Three's Always A Crowd: Part 9**

  


Kari sat by one of the desks anxiously. She continually wiggled her fingers, almost twitching her wrist which almost had Davis and TK's own wrists moving. Those two boys had anxieties of their own. They knew that just about anything could happen at this point, especially with Tai in the state he was in.

Tai looked around to see four or five beakers full of different chemicals. Kari gulped at the thought of what Tai was liable to do. In the state he was in, he obviously didn't have his head on straight and he was either about to do something stupid or about to get himself hurt.

The older Kamiya poured all the chemicals in one beaker and started shaking them. Amazingly, the beaker DIDN'T explode in Tai's face. But that didn't mean the would-be 'scientist' wouldn't push his luck. Tai nodded to his assistant.

"Ok, turn up the heat."

Sora reluctantly turned on a blue flame. Tai put the beaker over the flame and let the compound mix together. The compound started bubbling and that meant Tai's work must have been done. All that was left was a boiling brown liquid. Tai took the beaker out and started walking towards the handcuffed threesome.

"Now don't move, Davis," Tai instructed.

Davis was sweating profusely and Kari could only close her eyes. As much as she trusted her big brother, she still felt like something was about to go wrong. Finally, she heard a sizzling sound as the liquid poured onto the metal handcuffs. But when Kari opened her eyes, she saw that the handcuffs were still in one piece.

Tai blinked. "Huh? I don't get it. That should have made a really powerful acid and should have melted the handcuffs."

"And you wonder why you got a C- in Chem," Matt groaned. "Gimme that!"

Matt swiped the beaker and poured some of it on his finger. While that was a very dangerous thing to do, Matt looked fairly confident that the compound was harmless. He was SO confident, that he even went as far as to taste it as Sora, Yolei, and everyone else gasped.

Matt smacked his lips. "Just as I thought. The CO2 from the fire extinguisher sunk into your brain. You made HOT CHOCOLATE!!"

Tai took the beaker in his hand. "Really?" He drank the whole thing. "Hey! This is pretty good!" Then a light bulb appeared over his head. "Wait! I got it! The flame!"

Tai grabbed Davis' wrist and dragged the entire handcuffed threesome over to the blue flame. He lifted Davis' wrist until the metal of the handcuffs was hanging over the blue flame. In theory, it was a good idea. But it was only in theory.

Because after a few minutes, the metal wasn't melting.

"Unbelievable," Yolei said in amazement. "Those things have to be indestructible."

"That's impossible!" Tai exclaimed. "Matt, where'd you get these things, anyway?!"

"Carnival," Matt answered casually. "I didn't think carnival folk could make such strong handcuffs. I'll have to remember that the next time the carnival comes to Odaiba."

"I'm not giving up that easily," Tai said with even more determination than before. "There has to be SOMETHING I can do!" Then a light bulb appeared over his head. "I GOT IT!!"

* * *

An hour later and everyone was still in the Odaiba High Chemistry Lab, but now there was one more little helper there. Tai made a quick call to the Digital World and called his Digimon partner, Agumon, who was more than happy to help.

Matt groaned. "Can you hurry this up, Tai? I have to rehearse in fifteen minutes."

Whereas Kari was feeling anxious before, now she was feeling scared. She was afraid that Tai was acting on his emotions again and he wasn't thinking straight. He had her, TK, and Davis all standing against the wall in a straight line. And she knew exactly what Tai was setting them up for…and Kari cringed at the thought.

"Tai…isn't this a little dangerous?" Sora asked, echoing Kari's thoughts.

"What do you want me to do, Tai?" Agumon asked.

Tai whispered something in the little dinosaur Digimon's ear. Agumon nodded and stood positioned to attack. Kari was now sweating heavily along with TK and Davis. And just as she thought and feared…Agumon fired.

"Pepper Breath!"

Agumon unleashed the large fireball and it was heading right for Kari and Davis' wrists. Before the Pepper Breath attack could hit, though, the handcuffed trio all ducked. The fireball made a loud explosion and left Kari feeling a little warmth on her back. A warmth that started to get much hotter. Then she realized…her poncho was on fire.

"AAAAAHHHHH!!!"

Kari tried to stop drop and roll, but there was one problem. Since she was attached at both wrists, she ended up colliding with TK and Davis. Kari's poncho remained on fire and was burning through the fabric fast.

Just like a while ago, Yolei reached for the fire extinguisher and tossed it to Matt. Matt sprayed the CO2 all over Kari and the flames were put out. Kari got to her feet and looked to her left to see Davis was about to faint. She turned to her right to see TK blush and suddenly turn away. She turned to Matt and Sora to see that they were obviously looking to say something, but the words weren't coming out. She looked over to Yolei…who only gulped. Just then…Kari felt a draft. First, she turned around to see that Agumon's attack had made a huge hole in the wall, bringing in a gust of wind. And that's when she realized something else.

Agumon's Pepper Breath had burned her entire poncho. Now Kari was only left in a pair of pants…and her bra. She was embarrassed beyond belief…and she had one person to blame for it.

"Thanks a lot, Tai!!" she shouted.

Sora shook her head. "Good one, Tai. Maybe for your next trick, you can burn her pants off."

"What's wrong with you, Tai?!" Matt demanded. "PEPPER BREATH?! That's too big! Are you trying to barbecue my little brother?!"

Tai's jaw was wide-open. The process of absorbing what he had just done was obviously a slow one. But in one small action, Tai had just made things worse. And Kari couldn't stand things getting EVEN WORSE than they were before. Every time she thought it couldn't get any worse, it got WORSE.

Finally realizing what he had just done, Tai did the only thing he could do. He banged his head repeatedly against the wall.

"I can't believe this!" Tai groaned. "All I want is for those handcuffs to be off my sister!"

Just then, Sora looked like she had an idea. "Uh…Tai…?"

But Tai wasn't listening. "There has to be something I haven't tried! I'm in a CHEMISTRY LAB! There has to be something here that works!"

"Tai…"

"You'd think one of these things could act as a powerful acid! I just want something to melt those handcuffs!"

"Tai…"

"Or maybe there's something else I haven't thought of! This can't be the only lab in the school! Maybe there's something in the Woodshop Lab!"

"TAI!!"

"What is it, Sora?"

Sora calmly walked over to the handcuffed threesome…and pulled out a hairpin. She put the hairpin in the lock of Davis' handcuffs…and they opened. She put the hairpin in TK's handcuffs and they also fell open. Kari couldn't believe it…but the pressure on her wrists was finally relieved. The handcuffs were finally off.

Tai's jaw dropped open again. "You mean that's it?! After all the trouble I've gone through and all it took was one of your hairpins?!"

Yolei sweatdropped. "Hairpins…why didn't I think of that?"

It almost felt like a miracle and Kari could hardly move. She was free, no longer attached at either wrist. And that meant this horrible nightmare was over.

"Kari…?"

Kari's blood boiled when she heard that voice. She turned around and gave TK the coldest stare she could give him, freezing him in his tracks. Then she did something she never thought she'd ever do. She raised her hand and slapped him in the face.

TK stopped everything. He rubbed his left cheek, but his expression was blank. He was completely shocked…and hurt. But after everything that happened, Kari didn't care.

"Stay…away…from me!" Kari spat.

Kari just wanted to turn and run away, but she ran into the other dodo. She stood right in front of Davis. The goggle boy looked nervous, but nonetheless tried to put his own unique spin on the situation again.

"Well…now that we're out…can I show you my next trick?" Davis grinned.

Kari groaned in disgust before slapping the taste out of Davis' mouth, too. "You too! I don't EVER want to see either of you again! Just stay away from me! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Kari was about to run, but someone stopped her. It was Tai. Tai quickly took off his jacket and gave it to Kari so she could cover up. Kari gave her brother a quick hug.

"Thank you, Tai…for looking out for me again."

After giving her brother a hug, Kari had no other reason to stay in that place. So she kept running and didn't look back. All she wanted was to go home.

* * *

Davis rubbed his cheek painfully. It really hurt him to see Kari slap him. It wasn't the first time it happened, but it still hurt. And that's when he started to come to his senses.

This WAS his fault. No matter how many times he tried to pass the blame onto TK, Davis was the one who started it. He made a mistake and all he could do now was admit to it…and think about what drove him to it.

All Davis wanted to do that day was show Kari some magic. But it ended up becoming another heated competition between him and TK. Davis didn't MEAN to make Kari angry. He really liked her. But his fear and jealousy only resulted in him doing stupid things that only made things worse.

Davis suddenly made a bold move. He walked up to Tai. "Tai?"

Tai glared coldly at Davis. "How could you do this, Davis? After all the times I stuck up for you and tried to help you? After all the advice I've given you? After all the times I had faith in you when no one else would? After all the times I tried to convince everyone that you AREN'T the biggest dope on the face of the Earth and then you do THIS? You handcuff yourself to my little sister? What do you have to say for yourself?"

Davis hung his head down. "I'm sorry, Tai. I really didn't mean for the handcuffs to get stuck. I was just trying to do a trick…to make Kari happy. Because I really like her."

Tai sighed deeply. "I know you like her. I mean, it's pretty obvious. Look, if it were up to me, I'd make sure Kari ended up with only one person…and that's you, Davis. You aren't the sharpest knife in the drawer…but you have a really good heart. You remind me…of me."

Davis' face brightened. "You mean it?"

"BUT…it's NOT up to me," Tai continued. "I can't MAKE Kari like you. And right now, she's really mad at you…and I can't say I blame her. Good intentions or not, these last few days had to have been some of the worst days of her entire life."

Davis frowned. "And it's all my fault. I have to talk to her, Tai. I want her to forgive me."

Tai stepped aside. "Then go after her. She's on her way home. Maybe you can catch up to her. But Davis…watch what you say. I know you have that same wonderful charm that I do, but you really have to be careful what you say around Kari right now. I want you two to make up."

Davis smiled. "Thanks, Tai."

After all that had happened, it looked there was one redeeming thing that came out of this whole ordeal. Davis didn't know it before, but he knew it now. He had Tai's blessing. And that made Davis feel so much better. He was on top of the world.

"Davis, wait!"

Davis stopped and turned back as Tai walked up to him.

"Maybe you should think about telling Kari how you feel someday. Instead of doing the kind of things guys like you and I typically do…maybe you should be honest with her."

"You think so?"

Tai shrugged. "It sounds like the kind of thing Sora would say. But yeah…sounds right to me. So maybe you should think about that."

Davis nodded. "I'll do that. Thanks, Tai."

Tai gave Davis a thumbs up. "Good luck, Davis."

Davis smiled and returned the gesture. Then he quickly ran out of the lab…hoping to catch up to Kari.

* * *

TK honestly felt like he was about to cry. He used to cry a lot, but he hadn't cried in a very long time. But he never felt this kind of pain in his heart before. He was trying his best not to burst into tears, but there were three people already set to comfort him in case they came. TK first leaned on Sora.

"TK…it's ok," she said soothingly. "Let it all out."

No longer able to hold it in, TK started crying into Sora's shirt. He hadn't cried like this in a long time and Sora's shirt was getting soaked with tears.

Matt tried to look the other way. "TK…you're crying like you're eight again…"

"How about a little sensitivity, Matt?!" Sora snapped. "He's obviously really hurt right now!"

"Kari NEVER slapped me in the face before," TK wept. "Everything you said was right! I HAVE changed! What's happened to me, Sora? What's wrong with me?!"

"That's what I don't understand," Sora said softly. "Why HAVE you been acting this way? The whole fashion show incident***** was just one example. Then you went and…handcuffed yourself to Kari. The TK I knew would NEVER do something like that. Why have you been like this?"

TK knew exactly what it was…and he decided to come clean. "It's because…I'm afraid. It feels like Kari and I have been drifting apart…and she's been drifting more towards…Davis. And I don't want to lose her. I…really like her."

Yolei gasped. "I knew it!"

Matt smirked at Sora. "Told you so."

"That's sweet that you like her, TK," Sora smiled. "But…is THAT why you've been acting this way? Are you afraid Kari's gonna like…Davis?"

TK nodded and sniffled. "I know it sounds really dumb. But Davis is a great guy. Why wouldn't Kari like him? Underneath all that ego, Davis is all heart. I've seen that side of Davis. It's just what Kari looks for in a guy."

Sora patted TK on the back of his head. "TK…you're really selling yourself short. You are a WONDERFUL guy. Am I right, Yolei?"

"There was NOTHING wrong with the old TK," Yolei agreed. "In fact, I think Kari really liked the old TK. She didn't really start drifting away from you until you started doing things more like…Davis."

Sora nodded. "I think what Yolei is trying to say is…the same thing I am. TK…I think Kari would like you…and I think you and her would make a great couple."

"Of course they would," Matt added. "They've known each other for a long time. And I don't think Kari should be with anyone else. Look, if it were up to me, I'd make sure Kari ended up with only one person…and that's you, TK."

TK raised his head and dried off a tear. "You think so?"

"BUT…it's NOT up to me," Matt continued. "I can't MAKE Kari like you. I can't even make SORA like me."

Sora slapped Matt upside the head. "You got that right."

"But as I was saying…right now, Kari's really mad at you…and I can't say I blame her. Good intentions or not…and as funny as it sounded to me…these last few days had to have been some of the worst days of her entire life."

TK stopped crying long enough to adjust his robe and realize what he had to do. "I want to ask her to forgive me."

"That's good, TK," Sora said warmly. "But…there's one more thing you could do."

TK looked up. "What's that, Sora?"

"Maybe you could think about telling Kari how you feel someday. Instead of doing things like Davis would do…do things like YOU would do. Be yourself, TK. And be honest with her."

"I'll do that," TK smiled. "Thanks, you guys."

"You can thank us by catching up to Kari," Matt shrugged.

TK nodded and decided to do just that. He ran out of the lab, but suddenly noticed something.

Davis was also running out…and soon both boys were side-by-side…

…both trying to catch up to Kari.

  


Next Time: The end comes next time. Do things end happily ever after? Come back and find out!

***** - refers to 'The Fashion Show' in which TK and Davis both lose control and get in a food fight.

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


	10. Friendship Is Stronger Than Handcuffs

Last Time: After many unsuccessful tries by Tai, Sora finally gets the handcuffs loose with her hairpin. The handcuffs are now off, but there's still one problem. Kari hates BOTH TK and Davis. A pep talk from Tai gets Davis chasing after Kari while a similar pep talk with Sora, Matt, and Yolei get TK doing the same. So how does this all end?

  


**Three's Always A Crowd: Part 10**

  


Kari was happy to have a nice, comfortable jacket with her as she reached her doorstep. She didn't want to have to run home in just her bra, so she was grateful that Tai was there to loan it to her. Her big brother had once again come to her aid, just like many times before, even though it was actually Sora who got her out of the handcuffs. But Kari didn't actually care WHO got the handcuffs off her, as long as they were off.

Finally, it appeared that the whole nightmare was over and all Kari wanted to do was go back home and forget. Unfortunately, like many events of the past few days, it wasn't that easy.

"KARI!"

Kari couldn't believe this was happening. She let out an exasperated sigh and turned around to see both TK and Davis were running up to her. They both looked like they had been running nonstop since coming from Odaiba High. Kari groaned. She didn't even want to see their faces. Not after all that happened.

"What do you two want?" Kari asked coldly.

"To apologize," both boys said.

Davis turned shoot TK a cold stare. "I came to apologize first, TK!"

TK looked like he was about to shoot back…but stopped. "Ok…go ahead."

That caught both Kari and Davis by surprise. That wasn't something they were expecting based on TK's behavior as of late.

Davis was about to turn to apologize, but then sighed. "Kari…can I talk to you alone?"

Kari didn't want to talk to anyone at that moment. But before she could even say anything, TK looked like he was walking away.

"I'll just wait over there," TK said. "You two can talk."

It was another pleasant surprise. TK wasn't arguing, yelling, or acting weird at all. He was starting to act more like…himself. But before Kari could think about that, she had someone else to deal with.

"Well…start talking," Kari huffed.

"I want to apologize, Kari," Davis began. "I don't know why I did what I did. I was just trying to cheer you up so you wouldn't be mad at me about what happened at the fashion show. I wanted to make you happy. But…when TK came in trying to do the same thing I was…I guess I got a little jealous."

"A little?"

"Ok…I DID get jealous," Davis admitted. "I'm really sorry. I should have put more thought into what I was doing and I should have known I could do the trick BEFORE putting the handcuffs on you. I guess…I was just hoping after the day was over…that you'd like me a little more."

Kari sighed. "Davis…I WAS starting to like you a little more. But not because of your magic. Ever since the whole trip to the mountain lodge happened, I've started to see you in a different way. I started to realize that…you really DO care about me…and you DO have a wonderful heart…even if a lot of times, it's covered up by that huge ego of yours.

"But handcuffs? That was something the OLD Davis would have done. It wasn't the kind of thing I was expecting from this NEW Davis I was seeing. Now I don't know what to think of you anymore. I really appreciate everything you've been doing for me lately. BUT…I also told you how I felt, Davis. If you're doing this because you want me to like you, then I'll have to tell you the same thing I've told you before. I'm not ready for a relationship right now. I've told you that before…and I feel like you haven't respected that at all.

"If you really like me…then you won't put any more pressure on me. You'll let me decide for myself when the time is right…and who the right person is."

Davis looked up into the sky. "I'm sorry, Kari. I'll tell you what. I won't put any more pressure on you. And I really mean it this time. Because…right now, I have total faith that when you ARE ready…you'll choose me. I have complete faith in myself…because I know I can make you happy."

Kari giggled. "That IS one thing I really like about you, Davis. I've never seen anyone with so much self-esteem."

"Really? Yolei always says it's ego."

"It CAN be sometimes," Kari clarified. "There's a fine line between confidence and ego. But…lately, you haven't crossed that line as much as you used to. That shows you've really matured."

There was a brief moment of silence before Davis continued.

"Kari…will you forgive me for what happened?"

Kari couldn't believe this. She was planning to be mad for a long time. But Davis' heartfelt speech made her anger go away. That meant she could only do one thing.

"Yes, Davis…I'll forgive you. Now…could you step aside for a bit? I'm sure TK wants to talk to me, too."

"Oh…sure."

Davis stepped aside and Kari walked past him and up to her best friend, TK…or the guy who USED to be her best friend. Kari didn't what TK was to her anymore. But she was ready to find out.

TK turned around and immediately hung his head down. "Kari…I'm really want to apologize about everything. Not just the whole handcuffing thing, but EVERYTHING. I really haven't been myself lately."

"That's what bothers me, TK," Kari said. "You're not the same guy you were before. Is something bothering you?"

TK hesitated before going on. "I guess things have happened. Maybe I've noticed that in these last few months, you haven't looked at me the same way that you used to. Instead, it's like you've been paying more attention to…Davis. And I guess…I got a little jealous. And…maybe I've been trying more and more…to get you to like me."

Kari smiled. "TK, I always liked you. You're my best friend."

TK shook his head. "No…that's not what I mean. I thought you were starting to like Davis more than you liked me, so…I might have been trying to be more like…him…in hopes that you'd like me more. I thought I'd lose you to him. And I don't want to lose you, Kari…because…I really like you."

Kari felt her heart break. This was exactly what she was afraid of. "TK……that's really sweet…and I'm VERY flattered. But……I'm afraid I'll have to tell you the same thing I've been telling Davis. I'm not ready for a relationship right now. I don't know WHAT my feelings are right now.

"But I just want to say one thing. TK…I liked you the way you were before. I liked the OLD TK. The TK that was my best friend and wasn't worried about being anything more. Lately…you've been a whole different person…and, to be honest, a person that can be…pretty irritating."

TK looked hurt, but he didn't say anything. Maybe deep down, he knew what Kari said was true.

Kari embraced TK and started speaking softly into his ear. "I know you care about me, TK. You're the most caring person I know. That's one of the things I really like about you. But…I'm not ready. I don't know when I'll be ready……or who the right person will be. And if you really like me…you'll respect that…and give me time to sort my feelings."

TK returned the embrace. "I'll give you as much time as you need. Will you forgive me for everything, Kari?"

"Of course I will, TK."

Kari hadn't felt this good in ages. In fact, before she knew it…she started leaning closer to TK…until…

"Kari!"

Kari turned around to see Davis running back up to them. Now that everything had been settled, Kari wanted to send them both on their way so she could get some sleep. But that's when she got a VERY good idea…that would pay them BOTH back for this whole horrible nightmare.

"Thank you for apologizing, you guys," Kari said cheerfully. "I honestly feel better now. But after everything that's happened…I really need a few hours to myself."

TK nodded. "That's ok."

"We'll call you later," Davis added.

Kari smiled mischievously. "But…I have one more surprise for you guys before you go."

TK and Davis glanced at each other before turning to nod. "Ok."

Kari grinned. "Close your eyes."

TK looked like he didn't know what to expect, but Davis looked really happy. The goggle boy must have been expecting a kiss. Either way, both boys closed their eyes…and Kari did the only thing she could do to make herself TRULY feel better. She pulled out…

…Matt's handcuffs…and handcuffed their wrists together.

Both boys opened their eyes. "HEY!!"

Kari giggled. "I'll leave you two alone now. Later, boys."

As Kari walked back, she could already hear Davis whining.

"NOOOO!!! Kari, don't leave us like this!! Don't leave me stuck to TP!!"

"DAVIS, DON'T PANIC!" Kari heard TK say. "All we have to do…is find Sora! Maybe she still has that hairpin!"

"Ok…but can we stop at the bathroom first?"

"NO!"

"But I really have to go!"

Kari giggled as she walked through her front door…leaving the two handcuffed boys to deal with their mess themselves.

  


**THE END**

  


Author's Note: Maybe you haven't noticed, but I'm hoping to drag this love triangle out for as long as possible, even though there is a major turning point in my next crossover. If you don't come back for the crossover, then I'll give you all the details anyway when I come back for Digimon: The College Years. And don't worry, readers! I'll occasionally come back and do one-shots of our characters while they're still 12. So look for those, too! See ya later!

  


Any comments? Then mail me at AmericanCaptor@hotmail.com and don't forget to review below!


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